Chapter 2

The night's calm was broken by a scream. The men were shrieking instructions at each other and the other women were yelling in terror, which I could hear. My hackles stood up in fear when I smelled burning oak trees wafting through the woodland. Most likely, the males were participating in one of their so-called "buzz parties." 

In the middle of nowhere, they build a large campfire and become quite intoxicated. I'm not any more relieved as a result. They would occasionally leave us alone, get so wasted that they would just pass out, come back the next day with terrible hangovers, and spend the entire day sleeping. Most of the time, they would circle and select one of us, beating us mercilessly; if you managed to live, you were lucky. I've already witnessed it once. They smelled strongly of beer and vomit. I felt queasy from the mere thought of it.

Then I noticed the men sprinting through the trees while holding torches over a roaring fire. My snout burned from the gasoline odour that lingered on their clothing. The trees were set on fire by them. One man came up to the little copper wolf, doused her in gasoline, and set the surrounding area on fire. Through the roaring fire, we could hear her whimpers and agonizing yells. I watched her desperately straining at her chain before the flames engulfed her.

Then, as someone poured gasoline on my back, it began to burn and seep into my newly opened wounds. Then a man came up from behind me. He had a long, deep scar that stretched from his forehead to his neck, and he had a vicious sneer. As he attempted to approach me, I growled. When the light from the fire hit his face, he grinned and his eye glittered like a wild animal. My eyes felt like they were on fire as the gas flowed into them and down my face. My eyesight became hazy, and I whimpered. I overheard the man giggling.

"I'm very sorry, honey", He tossed the flame in my direction, but I was able to deflect it. It strikes and ignites the tree to which I was bound. He was chuckling as I heard him go away in a whirl. I coughed as the smoke filled my lungs. I pull vehemently on the chain, my breath is stopped by the metal collar. My eaves began to water as a result of the smoke and gas. The flames grew.

The snow was melted by the fire as it spread across the ground, and the dead, yellow grass beneath it was also burned, becoming charcoal and ashes. It moved quickly toward me. The sweltering heat was palpable to me; it was a stark contrast to the cold. The tree was groaning as a result of my constant pulling and had grown weak. The flames were consuming it and destroying it. I fled as the old oak eventually collapsed with a loud "SNAP." I jogged and ran quickly. Though my vision was still blurry, I had to keep moving on. I was aware that I would be dead if they found me. 

The other was whimpering and whining in pain, pleading with me to intervene, but I was unable to. I will always be haunted by their sombre voices. My chest was pounding, and I could feel it. Even though my legs were screaming in pain from the effort, I persisted and pushed myself even more.

Before collapsing from weariness, I ran for over a half-day. I was finally free, albeit my body was weak and sickly from being confined in such bad conditions. Then my exhausted body was enveloped in the darkness of slumber. Even though I wasn't safe, at least I was at last free.

I heard a gasp and immediately began to pant and grip my chest. Since the day I escaped, two years ago, I have been plagued by that nightmare. I clenched my ears and pressed my eyes tight as I relived the agonizing recollections while curled up in a ball. 

The agonizing screams and witnessing the others suffer a horrific demise when I could have intervened and made an effort to save them. The way their bodies smelled like burnt pig meat and were scorched. As I crunched and shattered their necks, I watched the light leave their eyes as their souls left their bodies and fell limply in my jaws. My father tortured me in a variety of ways, each in his way. Whips, knives, and his continuous taunting. I yelled and gripped my ears even tighter until all I could hear was ringing.

I sat back down and surveyed the motel room I spent the night in as I waited for my breathing to calm down. It was poor quality, but it was inexpensive and the only item I could purchase with the stolen funds I received in exchange for turning in that deplorable chain and collar at a scrap yard.

The aroma of old lady perfume brand mould and cigarette smoke permeated the entire space. I was aware that I would be unable to go back to sleep. I took off my baggy top and put on a standard T-shirt and jeans that I had purchased from a homeless shelter. I gathered what little I had and stuffed a couple of water bottles into my backpack that someone had left in the damaged refrigerator. I fastened my boots and shrugged on my sweatshirt. I walked to the front desk and checked out even though it wasn't even light outside.

I walked because I didn't have a car and I didn't trust anyone enough to take a ride. I detested moving. I didn't hate my wolf because she was the only one who didn't hurt me and was responsible for keeping me alive all these years. Simply put, everyone hated my wolf. For her, my dad tortured me; the men beat me more severely and for a longer time. They all ridiculed me and teased me for having a wolf. Only when I had to hunt or sleep outside rather than in one of the abandoned buildings or cheap motels did I take on my wolf shape.

For the past two years, she has kept me alive. She gives me some of her power and endurance. She assisted me with scavenging and self-reliance. Fighting rogues and going on the hunt for food caused me to regain some weight and build some muscles. I left the foyer and made my way behind the hotel, toward the woods. I searched the area for other scents to confirm that this was unexplored ground and not territory already held by a pack. Similar to last night when I checked into the motel to make sure it was secure, no distinct aromas were present.

I so entered the jungle while remaining vigilant and pointing my nose downward to detect aromas. Spring would soon arrive as the earth was coated in a thin layer of snow. I continued to walk for a few hours. The sky turned pink and purple as the sun began to emerge from behind the mountains and tall trees.

I didn't get hungry until almost dusk afternoon. I recently killed a huge deer that had been putting me off. To ruin my clothes, I undressed and hung my backpack from the low branches of young spruce. I spent some time sniffing the ground to get muskeg used to the smells so I could return to my pack. When I did, I sprinted off in search of my prey while keeping my snout to the ground and ears alert. 

My nose was overwhelmed with the musty earth, and I came across a small rabbit path. It was a few minutes old. When I discovered my prey, I chased after it while crouching so it could see me from a higher rock. I ducked low and tensed the muscles in my back legs in preparation to pounce. I extended my claw and jumped on top of it. I quickly killed the animal and started tearing into the succulent meat.

Then the stench of rotting flesh filled my head, and I suddenly woke up. The rogue wolf emerged from the shadows and met my eyes. It was grey in hue and slightly bigger than I was. I gave a warning growl, telling them to back off and stay away from my food because I wasn't sharing. I was ignored as it drew nearer. Once more, my roar was stronger and my teeth were visible. It roared back at him this time, and three more rouges materialized behind him. 

Since I was outnumbered and didn't want to fight, I got up from my unfinished dinner and left. Feeling safer in my wolf shape, I raced back to my backpack and grabbed it up with my mouth. They came after me. Although they weren't directly behind me, they were close enough for me to notice them. They accelerated their speed as I ran more quickly. "Shit." My mental wolf shouted that. Indeed, sh*t.

They pursued me as I ran as quickly as I could. They were unable to pick up speed, thus they were slightly in the rear. I was too preoccupied with the people behind me to notice the one coming straight toward me until it was too late. He used his considerable weight to knock me off my feet and over.

 The others bit me where they could while he buried his claws deep into my side. My attempt to kick my foot out of one's mouth while kicking my rear legs only served to sharpen his teeth. The other bit into my shoulders and assisted in keeping me on the ground by holding me down.

I let my wolf ance when I felt her do so. She pressed her jaw firmly against the victim's exposed neck and tore out its jugular vein. We simply threw them off and fled as a result of my wolf's activities drawing their attention. They growled more angrily before suddenly coming to their senses and following me. I was unable to run quickly because of my hurt paw and the pain that ran up and down my leg. My wounds were bleeding profusely, rendering me weaker due to blood loss.

The other wolves quickly caught up to me, and one of them leapt on me, burrowing its claws into my back and burying its teeth into my shoulder, which was already hurt. I yelled and threw off my back, slamming the wolf into a tree. She whimpered as she remained on the ground after hearing its bones crack.

The two surviving wolves came closely after me as I started to sprint once more. Because I killed two of their own, I knew they were going to kill me. This would only come to an end. I was in a fight, but I was getting worn out. When I stopped moving, the two wolves started to circle me. I was too frightened to react because of their speed.

One struck me from behind while the other struck me from the front. A blonde who was bigger than me dug into my back and flank while a brown man tried to slit my throat. I put pressure on the brown person's shoulder by grabbing a small portion of it. Toit from soup, I tore a sizable portion of its side. The blonde is worn out and losing strength. When I stopped moving, the two wolves started to circle me.

One struck me from behind while the other struck me from the front. The larger one, a blonde, sought to slit my throat while the smaller one, a brown, dug into my back and flank. I put pressure on the brown person's shoulder by grabbing a small portion of it. To prevent it from standing up, I tore a sizable portion of its side. I was knocked over by the blonde, who then grabbed my neck. With my front paws, I made an effort to push it away so that it wouldn't get close to my neck.